The return of tree swallows is always a good sign and a harbinger of warm weather.

Have you ever watched these aerial acrobats happily soar and dive after insects? They're amazing birds.

I install bird houses each spring in hopes of attracting a family of tree swallows. I've had good luck in past years, but lately wrens have moved in. I'd prefer swallows. I think they eat more black flies and mosquitoes and they're a little quieter than wrens. They also like to scold and dive bomb my cat when he gets too close to their nests.

I'll never forget a June day a few years ago spent in my kayak on Basin Pond in Fayette. I was fly fishing for trout when dozens of teal-feathered tree swallows began their feeding frenzy. The birds skimmed across the surface, buzzing just inches from my kayak. Their wing tips rippled the pond as they gobbled water bugs and hatching mayflies.

I love this shot by Kennebec Journal staff photographer Andy Molloy, an expert at capturing images of birds. He never ceases to amaze us all with his wildlife photos.

— Ben Sturtevant

Staff photo by Andy Molloy
SWALLOW FLOCK: A quartet of Tree Swallows descend upon the Kennebec River in Gardiner recently while feeding in a large flock. The tree swallow typically returns to nesting grounds in the north before other swallows return.